177: Li Changsheng's despair, Qin Mengyao's unresolved feelings!

Boom!

Just as the notification sound faded.

The snow-white Cloud Silkworm in front of Lu Yuan was suddenly enveloped in a dazzling nine-colored divine light.

A terrifying aura, a hundred or even a thousand times stronger than before, erupted from the center of that divine light, instantly piercing through the clouds of the Primordial Fierce Nest and reaching the high heavens!

Great Ascension Stage!

This was true Great Ascension Stage pressure!

Crack! Crack!

The light cocoon shattered.

A butterfly with a wingspan of ten zhang, its wings flowing with nine-colored cloud patterns and radiant to the extreme, flew elegantly out of the light.

With every flap of its wings, dreamlike ripples rippled through the surrounding space, as if even time and space became blurred before its beauty.

Adult Form—Cloud Silkworm Immortal Butterfly!

"Master."

A crisp and pleasant woman's voice, like an orchid in a secluded valley, rang directly in Lu Yuan's Sea of Consciousness.

The huge butterfly's body flashed, rapidly shrinking until it turned into an exquisite palm-sized colorful butterfly. It landed gently on Lu Yuan's shoulder, intimately withdrawing all its pressure.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Lu Yuan looked at the colorful butterfly on his shoulder, the joy in his eyes almost overflowing.

Mahayana Middle Stage!

This was genuine Great Ascension Stage combat power!

Moreover, the most terrifying thing about the Cloud Silkworm Immortal Butterfly was not its attack power, but its support and control abilities.

Its Cloud Silkworm Immortal Silk was said to be able to bind even a Void Immortal for a moment.

Its Origin Pollen could even cause Great Ascension Stage Cultivators to fall into a momentary illusion, and could even heal dao wounds!

With it, Lu Yuan could truly be said to have the capital to walk unhindered in this Lower Realm.

"From now on, you shall be called Huanmeng."

Lu Yuan said softly.

"Thank you for the name, Master. Huanmeng likes it very much." The colorful butterfly flapped its wings, conveying emotions of joy.

"Let's go, back to the Sect."

Lu Yuan did not stay any longer.

He tore through the Void Realm once more, disappearing from the Primordial Fierce Nest with this member of the Primordial Royal Race that was enough to drive the entire Cultivation World crazy... About half an hour later.

The outskirts of the Primordial Fierce Nest.

A middle-aged man dressed in grey hemp clothes, his aura restrained to the extreme and looking just like an ordinary Mortal, was cautiously weaving through the miasma.

With every step he took, he would first use his Divine Sense to probe three times, only daring to set his foot down after confirming there was no danger.

He held a compass in his hand, stopping from time to time to deduce his position.

It was precisely the practitioner of the path of stealth—Li Changsheng.

"Three more li... almost there."

Li Changsheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his eyes flashing with an excited light.

"Ten years... I planted Spiritual Mulberry Trees for three years, practiced Beast Taming for three years, and refined Spirit-Bewildering Powder for three years..."

"Today, it is finally time to harvest!"

"As long as I catch that Cloud Silkworm Immortal Butterfly, I can use its pollen to break through the Great Ascension Stage Bottleneck! I can even control the Qin Family Old Ancestor and make the Li Changsheng Qin Family my back garden!"

Thinking of this, his heart, which had been silent for many years, couldn't help but beat violently.

He quickened his pace, slipping silently into the hidden valley like a nimble civet cat.

However.

When he pushed aside the final layer of mist with full expectation and saw the scene inside the valley clearly.

His whole body instantly froze on the spot, as if struck by lightning.

He saw that the place where the Seven-Colored Mulberry Tree should have grown and the Cloud Silkworm Immortal Butterfly should have been resting was now... completely empty!

Never mind the Immortal Butterfly, even that Seven-Colored Mulberry Tree was gone!

Only a huge pit remained on the ground, along with a lingering trace of... spatial fluctuations?

"No... this is impossible..."

Li Changsheng's eyes widened, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper.

He rushed frantically to the edge of the pit, his hands trembling as he grabbed a handful of soil.

"There's still residual warmth... they just left..."

"Who is it?! Exactly who is it?!"

"Aaaahhh!!!"

Li Changsheng let out a heart-wrenching roar, his voice filled with endless despair and resentment.

Ten years of preparation!

Ten years of painstaking effort!

Just at the moment he was about to pluck the fruit, someone had taken the whole pot away?

This was just like a daughter he had painstakingly raised for eighteen years being kidnapped the night before her wedding, without even leaving a dowry!

This feeling of his mentality shattering made him almost cough up blood.

"Calm down! I must calm down!"

Li Changsheng took several deep breaths, forcing himself to settle down.

"The opponent could silently take away the Immortal Butterfly without even triggering the surrounding Restrictions; they are definitely an expert among experts!"

He pulled an ancient star chart from his robes—the Star-Viewing Plate.

This was an extremely rare deduction treasure. Combined with his Grandmaster-level divination skills, he could calculate the whereabouts of even someone at the Integration Peak.

"I want to see which bastard intercepted my prize!"

Li Changsheng bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the star chart.

"Heavenly secrets manifest, Karma tracking!"

"Buzz!"

The star chart vibrated violently, the pointer on it spinning crazily.

However.

No matter how he urged his magic power, the pointer simply could not stop and point to a specific direction. Instead, it spun faster and faster, finally emitting an overwhelmed 'clack-clack' sound.

Bang!

A corner of the star chart directly exploded.

Puff!

Li Changsheng suffered a backlash and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He staggered backward, his eyes full of horror.

"How is this possible?!"

"A patch of Chaos? The heavenly secrets are immeasurable?"

"Not even a single shred of information can be deduced?"

What did this mean?

It meant that the cultivation level of the person who intercepted him, or the treasures on their body, were at a level high beyond his imagination!

"Could it be... a Great Ascension Stage old monster? Or even... a Void Immortal?"

Li Changsheng only felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to his crown.

Although he was stealthy and strong, facing that kind of legendary existence, he was merely a slightly larger ant.

"Cannot be fought... this person cannot be fought!"

The originally sky-high hatred in Li Changsheng's heart was instantly replaced by fear.

He glanced at the empty pit, finally gritted his teeth, turned, and ran.

"I can't stay in this Primordial Fierce Nest anymore!"

"I can't stay in the Myriad Treasure Immortal Pavilion either; I have to change my identity!"

This Son of Destiny, who had planned for ten years, actually chose to flee under the shadow of immense psychological trauma... Qingyun Dao Sect, Kunwu Mountain.

Lu Yuan did not know that he had scared away a stealthy Son of Destiny.

After returning to the Sect, he immediately went to see Qin Mengyao.

Inside the side hall of Azure Cloud Peak.

Qin Mengyao, dressed in plain clothes, was brewing tea for Lu Yuan.

Although time had left no marks on her face, the occasional flash of worry between her brows could not be hidden.

"Mengyao, do you have something on your mind?"

Lu Yuan took the teacup and asked softly.

Qin Mengyao paused, then sighed and sat down beside Lu Yuan.

"Brother Yuan, as expected, nothing can be hidden from you."

She gave a bitter smile: "I'm worried about the Qin Family."